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This weekend was one filled with quite a few art firsts. As some of you may recall I showed my work at a local farm’s harvest festival (first #1) on Saturday and Sunday. The boyfriend and I got to the festival around 8 am Saturday morning and begun hanging my work in a small, dilapidated old barn that had a ton of character (first #2). The barn’s roof had blown off in areas exposing the sky above, and the doors were long gone. Thick straw covered most of the floor creating a soft cushiony blanket below. It really was a pretty neat space.

The barn. The side you see here had all sorts of kid’s art stuff set up.

After hanging a few paintings and setting up a small display table on the squishy straw, the boyfriend headed back into town to do some work and I proceeded to try to stay warm in the 30 degree weather. As a few flakes of snow fell through the open roof, I realized I had never before shown my work in such cold temperatures (first #3). All day temps hovered around 35 and the wind blew. The few folks who were at the event huddled around metal fire filled trash cans, turning their bodies rotisserie style in order to stay warm. Needless to say, Saturday was not the best or busiest day for me or any of the other vendors, for that matter. They shut down the event early and I spent the rest of the night at home trying to warm up.

My space

Luckily though, Sunday was gorgeous! The day was sunny and crisp and folks were out and about. I met a lot of great people, had some friends come out to visit and really enjoyed myself. After wrapping up, one of my friends came back and stayed with us, making us dinner and then she and I did some drawing. Long Neck Lady was one of the pieces I worked on. All and all – a lovely day!

Goal: To create one piece of art each day for 365 consecutive days
Yesterday I decided it would be fun to create some more coasters. Instead of using old paper brewery coasters, I thought I’d paint directly onto tiles I picked up for ten cents from the local Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Using ceramic paint that you can pick up from an art or craft store, I got to work on abstract designs.
I finished up by baking the coasters for 45 minutes in order to set the paint and sticking cork to the bottom.
A pretty fun project for a Friday afternoon!

Following a very productive day yesterday that involved very little art, I sat down and with no end goal in mind, began drawing. As I progressed on the piece, I was feeling really good about how it was turning out. The detailed lines flowed through the space nicely and I felt good about the amount of contrast of black and white. I showed the little drawing to the boyfriend who noted, “You’re in your wheelhouse.” He was right. I was.

I love creating these organic feeling pieces. But, as I mentioned to him, I almost feel like I’m cheating when I make them. Why you ask? Because they are really easy for me. My goal is to push myself to get better by challenging my skills as I move along in this venture. I know that this type of drawing does not challenge me. But I do love it.

So what’s a girl to do? Well, it’s probably not all bad for me to mix in a little of what is easy – especially because I love creating this type of design. Perhaps the “challenge” I am looking for will be to allow myself not to feel too guilty about it, and appreciate that I’ve got this little drawing technique that I am pretty good at and always enjoy.

I dig abstract work – both looking at it and creating it. There is something fantastic about morphing lines and forms to create a new visual representation of the original. The abstraction takes on a personality and energy all its own.

The viewer interaction that goes along with this type of work is also interesting to me. The “Oh! That’s a ____” or “It kind of reminds me of a ____” moment is always fun. It can be even more entertaining when the viewer sees something unintended by the artist. Perhaps a person asks whether or not I purposely created a face within an abstracted bird. Or, I remember one time, after working diligently on a drawing, someone asking me if I meant for a certain area of the drawing to appear phallic. “No,” I said. But after she’d pointed it out, that seemed to be all I could see. I think I even ended up changing it because it was so obvious.

For day 113’s piece, I created a water/stream/river abstraction. As I worked on it, it morphed into something less water-like. New shapes and forms finished off the piece.

I hope you enjoy letting your mind find new and interesting things within the drawing. If you’re lucky (or not) you may just find a penis.

“Go with the flow,” they had said. So he hopped in his rowboat and waited for a tide. But ponds in the middle of a suburb offer little in the way of waves. He sat at the ready – alert to inspiration. Somehow, though, he couldn’t shake the sense that such a tactic may not garner the grandest results.

I have come to realize that repeating a pattern or shape when creating art is as close to a meditative practice as I get. The act seems to allow me to immediately relax.

Perhaps this is why, when I am most high strung or have a broad idea that I am thinking about and can’t quite get my head wrapped around, I tend to turn to repetition in my work. I am able to slow down and think through the issue at hand. I don’t always come up with a brilliant solution, but I feel a heck of a lot better when I’m done.

For some reason I felt like drawing a chicken yesterday. As I started in on the guy, I began thinking about the many, many ways we use “chicken” in our everyday language.

Other animals are not completely forgotten in colloquial English. I have thrown out a “holy cow” from time to time and may have even used the term “horse’s ass” once or twice – but such sayings are a drop in the bucket when compared to the chicken.

Shoot. I think the earliest joke I ever learned was, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

This leaves me to wonder. How in the heck did the chicken become so popular?

It is official. I am lucky enough to have landed some studio space at Rendition Gallery, a local joint here in Ft. Collins! I got all moved in yesterday and am super excited and a wee bit nervous for the opportunity to work and show there.

The downside to this big move is that my time spent working alongside Box (the cat) will be greatly diminished. I do, however, gain significantly more human interaction – with really great artists, no less.

My first official, completed project in the new space was this cut paper design. I feel like choosing to do a cut paper piece was a great decision for yesterday. With nerves being a bit high, it was a good way for me to relax and just enjoy the process of creating.

As for Box; his crying upon us getting home leads me to believe he is not as happy with the situation as I am.

Oh – If you’re in Ft. Collins, CO, over the next six months, stop on in. I’d love to see you!